Forgotten Mercy
by Well-Would-You-Look-At-That
Summary: For months Nora had presumed Loki was dead, only to find out that he was off causing havoc in another realm. On his return, she is furious and unsure if she could ever trust her friend again - but will she be forced to when she must choose whether to stay in a recently invaded Asgard or follow Loki back to Midgard? *obviously, I do not own The Avengers* please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

She walked down the corridor with purpose, her head held high and her heels clicking the tiles with each step. Upon hearing of Loki's return to Asgard, Nora dropped everything to go see him. She was furious of what he had done – it was selfish and moronic. Not that she should be surprised; he had always been doing selfish and moronic things.

_You and I both know that's not fair._

She rolled her eyes, sick of hearing her inner voice constantly scold her. It was bad enough having her own parents looking down at her; she didn't need any more judgement. It wasn't that she was a bad person, more that she chose to follow her own path than her sister's.

She paused at the end of the corridor and glanced around, frowning. Was this a good idea?

She turned on her heels and began to head back in the direction she had come from. No, she couldn't face him. Not now. Not after everything he's done. Not after presuming he was dead only to find that he was alive, causing havoc in another realm.

She growled at herself and spun back around, walking back down the corridor. Of course she could face him. She had to.

Nora was an odd girl, she never quite belonged. It wasn't because people despised her or anything, quite the opposite. People had always been kind to her, and she to them, but she just couldn't bring herself to feel comfortable around anyone. At all.

Well, except for _him _that is.

But that was different. They had met as teenagers and had been friends ever since. He was a lot like her, in a way – quiet, thoughtful, cunning (perhaps _too _cunning) – but in others, not so much. The important thing – to her – was that he listened. No matter how much she complained, how many hours she paced around his room as she raged about the unfairness of the world, he listened. It was a habit that not many people owned in Asgard, but he did.

She wasn't told much of Loki's return; she hadn't stuck around to listen. As soon as one of her rare friends said that he was back and was being holed up in his room, Nora had sped off without comment. Now, as she stood in front of his door, she wondered what was appropriate. Usually, she would just walk right in, but somehow she didn't think that option was all that proper, considering the situation.

Awkwardly, Nora held up her small hand, curled it into a ball, and knocked.

She wasn't met with an immediate answer, and she didn't expect to be. So as she waited, she nervously shifted from foot to foot, straightened out her short, purple dress, tightened the straps on her black, leather boots, and brushed her thick, dark brown hair out of her deep blue eyes. She hoped she didn't seem _that _tense.

After a minute or two the door swung open and she was met with the huge, towering figure of Thor. He peered down at her curiously, and then smiled. "Nora," he greeted.

She smiled back at him. "Hello," she glanced over his shoulder. "Mind if I talk to him?"

There was no point beating around the bush with small talk. Nora had always hated small talk.

His smile faltered a little. "I see no harm in that, but mind you, his behaviour is . . . strange."

Nora held back a scoff. "That's an understatement."

He didn't say anything, just stepped aside and gestured her in. She nodded at him gratefully and stepped forward, closing the door behind her.

The room was silent and cold, with no sign of Loki. Nora glanced around, confused, trying to ignore the eerie feel of the room. She took a couple of hesitant steps forward, looking around the huge room. Being back there reminded her of the times before her friend had left, when all they did was just sit down and talk late into the night. She smiled at the memories, and wondered if they could go back to that. Forget his faults. But she doubted that it would happen. Perhaps Loki listened _too _much – perhaps Nora had to share the load.

She was standing in the middle of the room when she heard movement behind her. She froze, not wanting to turn around. Fearing what she would see if she did.

"Nora," a familiar voice murmured, "what a pleasant surprise."

Nora squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled deeply. She exhaled. Slowly, she turned around to face her friend, standing there in all his glory. "Loki," she said dryly, "the pleasure is all mine."

He snorted. "I'm sure it is." He strode past her and settled himself on the sofa, leaning back and crossing a leg over the other. He looked the same as he had before, but there was something different about him. He seemed . . . exhausted. He noticed her watching him and gestured to the spot next to him. "Sit."

"I'd rather stand."

He shrugged. "Have it your way, then."

She scowled. "How can you be so _calm _about all of this?"

He gaped at her, as if he didn't know what she was talking about. "Excuse me?"

She ignored him, not in the mood to play his games today. "You _know _what I mean, Loki. What did you intend to achieve from this?"

A sly smile crossed his face. "I suppose we'll never know."

Nora groaned and began to take up her angry pacing again, back and forth in front of him. Loki watched her with amusement.

"You seem troubled, Nora."

"Oh and I wonder why." She sneered sarcastically.

"_I _do." Loki replied.

Nora paused and glanced at him, he seemed genuine. She turned to face him fully. "You don't understand why I'm upset?"

Her friend shrugged. "By no means have you had any compassion for the Midgardians, why would my business with them unease you?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Because it's wrong!" she exclaimed. "You cannot control an entire race – a race you have no part of, mind you. But not only that," she took a step forward, glaring down into his ice blue eyes. "We all thought you _died. _And then to find that you weren't dead at all – you were in Midgard, causing mayhem for no reason whatsoever. Did you ever stop to think how this would affect the people you left behind?"

He scoffed. "And who did I leave behind? My darling family?"

"_You left _me_ behind!" _Nora hissed, feeling a ball of pure rage gather within her. "Did I cross your mind at _all?" _A pang of grief washed over her anger. "Do you even realise how worried I was?" she whispered pathetically.

The corner of his lip twitched. "Your concern is touching, Nora."

She snarled, the grief vanishing in a split second, the fury raiding back. Nora hadn't realised that Loki would change in the time he had gone, and for that she cursed her ignorance. _I don't even know why I bothered to visit him. _"You're a jerk."

She turned around before he could reply, striding over to the door. Her hand was wrapped around the door knob when she realised that Loki had followed her to the door, and was now gripping her arm. She froze, and he spun her around to face him. All of his earlier humour was gone.

"I didn't realise my leaving would distress you so, Nora."

He was close, almost pressing up to her. He hadn't removed his hand, which was sending shivers through her entire body. He was almost a head taller than her, studying her carefully from above. Nora almost had to force herself to breathe. "Well, it did." She whispered.

"For that, I apologise."

She swallowed and glanced up at him. His expression was dead serious, and she couldn't decide if he was being genuine or if he was lying.

She glanced back down at the floor, feeling small under his heavy gaze. "I still think what you did was wrong, self-centered and foolish, you realise?"

"I do." He replied, a tinge of humour in his voice.

She pressed her lips together. "How are you being punished?"

"It's still undecided, but for now I am to remain here."

She nodded and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Well, whatever it is, I hope it's brutal."

"You always do."

She peered back up at him under her eyelashes. His hand was still gripping her arm, and he was still extremely close to her. Nora cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, I better be off. This was only a quick visit."

"Of course." He let go of her arm and took a step back.

She dared another quick peek at him before growing uncomfortable again and spinning back around she grabbed the door knob and yanked it forward. "You're a horrible person, Loki, but you are my friend."

Like always, he showed no emotion. "Farewell, Nora. Until next time."

She slipped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her, collapsing onto the wall and holding up a hand to her forehead, breathing heavily.

Well, that went rather unexpectedly.


	2. Chapter 2

Nora left Loki in a daze, not fully registering her surroundings. Thor was right, in a way, his brother _was _in a strange mood – although she was sure Loki hadn't acted the same way towards his own brother. It was almost as if, on returning, Loki had gained a new sense of cockiness, if not more.

He never acted this way before – before he was presumed dead – at least, not around her. Nora searched her mind, thinking back on the events that had happened leading up to his absence. It all felt like a lifetime ago, but in reality was almost half a year. Still a long time to be gone, to be thought dead.

Of course, Thor had been banished from Asgard, and just after that Odin fell into Odinsleep. That was all around the time when Loki had become temporary King – it was also when he had stopped talking to her.

Nora came to a halt in her tracks and frowned. At the time, she had thought her friend was grieving and needed space – but perhaps it was just the start to a much bigger plan.

"Nora,"

At the sound of her name, Nora spun around and cringed at the sight of her older sister, perhaps one of the few people she resented. It wasn't that Isabelle harmed Nora in any way, more the fact that she was just so God damn _perfect. _As soon as she was born she set a high standard for her little sister – a standard that, no matter how hard she tried, Nora just couldn't reach.

"Isabelle" Nora said dryly, and then turned her back on her sister and walked off.

She heard her sister scowl and quicken her pace to catch up to Nora. Nora kept her gaze set forward and didn't spare a glance at her sister.

"Where have you been all day?" Whenever Isabelle spoke to her sister it was always in an accusing voice, as if everything Nora did annoyed her. No doubt Nora's absence was frowned upon in her sister's eyes.

Nora kept in a sigh. "I've been busy, why would you care?"

"Not that I really care what you do with your life, sister, but our mother wanted us to be there when our uncle arrived."

_Oh, yeah. _It left Nora's mind completely, but didn't trouble her all that much – her family irritated her. She had a slight suspicion that her mother was going to be upset with her, though, as her uncle only visited once every year, and each time Nora and Isabelle had to be shown off. Not that Nora would have been much to show.

Nora shrugged and took a sudden left. "I'm sure mother won't mind. Besides, I'm an adult, surely _now_ I can disobey mother's word without being punished?" she smirked.

Isabelle rolled her eyes and let out a deep huff. "You may appear to be an adult, Nora, but you still act like a selfish child."

_Ouch._

Nora swallowed down the ball in her throat. "Nice to know your thoughts, sister."

Isabelle shrugged. "Well, you brought it on yourself."

Nora came to a halt and rounded on her sister, glaring up into her innocent blue eyes. "Why are you here?" she snapped. "To _torment _me? Is _that _it?"

Isabelle glared back at her coolly. "I came to find where you were, but I could already guess where you have been."

Nora blinked. "Oh, well if you can already guess, I don't see any point in looking." She turned around to walk off but her sister lashed out and gripped her arm, digging her nails slightly into her bare skin. Nora cringed.

"You've been with that horrid God of Mischief, haven't you?"

Nora struggled against her sister's grip. "What's it to you?"

"It means everything to me, you are my sister."

Nora was taken aback. "It – it does?"

Isabelle tilted her head and studied her little sister. "Why of course it does – can you imagine what people would think of me if they saw _my _sister with a somewhat . . . monster?"

Nora flinched, but she wasn't sure what bothered her more – Isabelle's lack of care for her or the way she loosely used the term 'monster' to describe Loki. Everyone in Asgard knew what a monster was, and Loki was not one of them.

Nora shifted from side to side and blinked back tears rapidly. "Of course you would think that," she said in a small voice.

"His brother, however, _that _I approve of."

Nora nodded grimly. _Of course she would. _She glanced back up at her sister and held her heavy gaze determinedly. "Let go of me."

Isabelle raised an eyebrow. "Such aggression," she sneered, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Nora reached up and grabbed Isabelle's hand. "I'm not joking."

A spark flickered in Isabelle's eyes. "Obviously."

The two sisters stood glaring at each other for some time, neither saying a word. Isabelle's nails were slowly digging into Nora's skin; the deeper they went the more pressure Nora applied to her hold of Isabelle's hand. Isabelle took a step forward, her eyes shooting daggers into Nora. Without warning she jerked her hand away, her nails slicing through Nora's skin as she did so. Nora cried out in pain and glanced down at the scratches on her forearm, a line of blood appearing.

Isabelle's lip curled into a nasty smile. "It is not best to fight me, dear sister," she took a step back and turned on her heels, walking away from her down the hall. "You will lose." She called over her shoulder.

Nora snarled after her and then pressed a tentative hand to the small scratches on her arm. She winced. Lord, did Isabelle have sharp nails.

After a moment or two she spun on her own heels to walk in the opposite direction of her sister, walking down the way she was originally heading. She was just thinking about how much she longed for company when behind her she heard a high, ear-piercing scream, echoing through the castle.


	3. Chapter 3

Loki leaned his head on the door for some time, listening to Nora's footsteps as she walked away. He didn't expect her to come visit him, but really, he should have. He was slightly ashamed to admit that, during his time in Midgard, he forgot about her – only _slightly. _But it was almost as if he wasn't the same person anymore, in the other realm. Even now he felt oddly different.

He backed away from the door and spun around, scanning the room with boredom. It wasn't as if he were trapped in here, while he waited for his punishment to be determined, but Loki knew that if he did leave the consequences would be . . . severe. Not that his punishments were _already _going to be severe. Oh well, Loki always liked a challenge.

He thought about what Nora had said – how distressed she had been. In the beginning, he _did _think about her and how she would feel about his plans, but further along the road he learned to block her out of his thoughts. Not because he came to despise her or anything, but because she was too painful to think of. She was a distraction.

He scowled at himself and sat down, staring off into the distance with a sneer on his face. Nora was – in some ways – _too much _of a distraction. If he were to complete what he set out to do, he needed to forget about her.

But then again, did he _want _to finish what he started?

It was at that moment when he heard a shrill scream of terror from outside his room, far away but still audible. He jumped out of his chair. Something was wrong.

* * *

Nora's heart leapt into her throat and she spun around, looking around wildly for any upcoming threat. The scream had come from a few halls down, and she wasn't sure if it was a scream of pain or terror – perhaps both. As much as Nora disliked her, she feared that the scream belonged to her sister, and that Isabelle was in some sort of trouble.

She started running down the hall, desperate to find the owner of that scream. She was probably overreacting, it was most likely nothing, but you could never be too careful.

As she rounded the corner she collided into a tall figure and was knocked back with an 'oomph!' The figure she ran into scowled.

Nora glanced up into the face of her sister. "Was it you?"

Isabelle brushed herself off and shook her head, watching Nora evenly. "The scream? No, it wasn't me – I thought it was you."

Nora snorted. "Oh, that's sweet, you cared." She said dryly.

Isabelle shook her head in irritation. "There's no time for this."

Another scream rang through the castle, making the two girls jump and whip their heads in the direction where the sound came from. They looked at each other. "No time at all." Nora agreed, and the two began to head towards the scream, wondering what could have possibly happened.

"Do you have any idea what's happened?" Nora asked, not looking at her sister.

"None whatsoever." She replied flatly. "But it doesn't sound good."

The closer they got to the front end of the castle, the louder and more frequent the screams got. It wasn't just one person now, but many. Nora wasn't sure whether to quicken her speed or turn around and head back. The latter was probably the safest option – she had a bad feeling about all of this.

They turned a corner, almost outside now, where the bifrost would be. They stumbled to a halt when they discovered a few people panicking. A hysterical girl turned to them and screamed at them to run, pushing past them to get away herself.

Nora frowned and glanced outside, peering down the bifrost. Huge, dark figures were slowly making their way down the bridge, tall and threatening and coming closer and closer. From this distance, Nora wasn't able to see if they were frost giants or . . . something else. But she knew they were a threat.

Isabelle grabbed Nora's arm and began to tug her away. "Run." She muttered.

Nora obliged, running alongside the sister she had fought with only minutes ago. In fact, she was beginning to forget about all that until they ran past the corridor she walked down earlier. It was almost as if his name slammed into her mind, causing her to stumble to a stop.

Her sister stumbled as well and glanced back, annoyed. "_What are you doing?" _she hissed.

Nora stared down the corridor. "Loki," she whispered aloud.

Isabelle gaped at her. "What?"

Nora glanced over at her impatient looking sister. "If we _are_ in danger, I have to get him; I have to find him before they do."

Isabelle stared at her as if she was crazy. "You are my sister," she growled. "You do as I say, you follow where I go. Forget about _him _and let's _go._"

Nora smiled without humour. "I just can't do that." She turned around and sprinted down the corridor, ignoring her sister's annoyed shouts behind her.

Unsurprisingly, Isabelle didn't run after her. Running back to find her little sister was enough – if Nora decided to run away then Isabelle was not going to bother chasing her.

Nora raced down the corridor, blocking out all sound but the heavy thuds of her footsteps. She skidded to a halt in front of Loki's door and wrenched it open, discovering the God standing up and looking over at her, confused. "What's happening?"

"We have to go," Nora panted out.

Without a word Loki strode over to her side and the two spun around and headed out of the room, down the hall, feeling a new sense of tension wash over them. Although moments ago he was thinking about forgetting her, Loki knew that he couldn't do that to Nora - not when she was this panicked, anyway. Loki felt a sense of dread about what was happening, and if he was right, he _needed _Nora to trust him, lest she wanted to stay behind.

He glanced over at her. "Are you frightened?"

His words caught her off guard, and she stumbled a little but managed to regain her balance and turn to him. "A little."

He smirked. "Don't be." Her grabbed her hand and jerked her in the opposite direction of where she was leading him.

She shot him a glare and quickened her pace to catch up to him. "Where are we going?"

There was an amused gleam in his eyes as he said, "you'll see."

**I apologise for the _extremely _short chapters I'm writing, but hopefully I'll get more time to write once I get other stuff finished.  
Thank you for being patient and taking the time to read this, I greatly appreciate it :)**


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